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J. A. GAVITT. Harness Buckle.

No. 231,304; Patented Aug. 17, I880.

' lllllll l l l WITNESSES v/{fNVENTQR Jm W %a/M- Y ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICEQ JAMES A. GAVITT, OF DAYTON, WASHINGTONTERRITORY.

HARNESS-BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,304, dated August17, 1880.

Application filed January 10, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES A. GAVITT, ofDayton, in the county of Columbia, Washington Territory, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Harness-Buckles; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention is an improvement in that class of harness-buckles havinga tongue provided with a prong or finger which projects inward from thefree end thereof and passes through the strap to be secured.

The invention consists in the combination of a spring catch with thetongue and bucklefra-ine, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

The construction and arrangement of parts are as shown in accompanyingdrawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the buckle online w as, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view, part being broken out. Fig. 3is a plan view of the buckle-tongue inverted.

The frame of, the buckle consists of the side bars, A A, the rearconnecting-bar, B, parallel front plates, 0 G, and rear plate, I), towhich the tongue E is hinged.

The free end of the tongue is circular and fits in a recess formed inthe plate 0. A prong or finger, F, is formed solid with said free end ofthe tongue, and when the tongue is closed,

as shown in full lines in the several figures, the prong F passesthrough holes I) I) in the head-plates O G.

The spring-catch H holds the tongue closed, or prevents the prong F frombeing accidentally disconnected from the strap or trace, (not shown,)which is, in practice, inserted between the bars 0 G. Said catch isformed of a springwire, which is bent so as to have approximately a Ushape, and confined in a recess in the under side of the tongue E, asshown in Fig. 3.

The ends of the arms of the catch H enter lateral notches d formed inthe plate 0 on each side of the recess, in which the head of the tonguefits.

In order to open or close the tongue E the spring-arms of the catch arepressed inward or toward each other by applying the thumb and finger tothelateral bends 0, thereby forcing the ends of the arms out of notchesd, as will be readily understood.

What I claim is-- The combination, with the buckle-frame A I) (J G andhinged tongue E, having prong F, of the spring-catch H, secured to theunder side of the tongue, as shown and described, for the purposespecified.

JAMES ALEXANDER GAVITT.

Witnesses:

E. I. R. BURK, J. W. JACKSON.

